The Phoenix Suns reaching the NBA Finals is one of the most impossible events in the history of the sport.
Let's just start there. Choose where you draw the line, whether it was their decade in the playoff-less abyss before this season, or that they were 26-39 last year, going to the Orlando, Florida, bubble, or their championship by the end of April. Odds were around +2,500.
It's a ridiculous twist, with all its injuries and derailments, regardless of the one-sided nature of this season. Almost as funny as Chris Paul scored the biggest scoring half of his career - 31 of his 41 points in a Suns game 6 130-103 win over the LA Clippers - in the second half of a close game to reach the finals .
There were countless actions that led to the Sons' victory, and Paul grabbed the Western Conference title trophy Wednesday night with tears in his eyes.
"We've seen a bottom for many years," said Devin Booker, who won just 30% of his games and had six head coaches in his first five seasons at Phoenix.
"I've gone through a lot of bullies---, honestly. I've got my head down and I'm done."
Looks like karma was definitely working. The franchise is filled with dire luck in 1969, when the Sons lost a coin flip for a chance to draft Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Instead, he got the Neil Walk. The general manager at the time, Jerry Colangelo, was so distraught that he wandered aimlessly for hours after hearing the results on the phone.
In 1976, the Suns were 2–2 in the final before losing a triple-overtime game to the Boston Celtics, which the league saw and was done in Game 6. In 1993, with MVP Charles Barkley, he ran in Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. In 2005, Joe Johnson broke his eye socket in the playoffs. In 2007, Steve Nash's unstoppable bloody nose and Amare Stoudemire's suspension occurred.
In a post season where superstars go down everywhere, Paul and Booker have managed to dodge both major injury and illness.
"I've been on the other end of a lot of losses. I know how that feels," said Paul, who has ended his three playoff runs in injury.
"If you work, you live with results. We've worked. We're a work team. Nice to see it all together."
Most teams that win at the highest level overcome their share of adversities. Who knows where the Sun is in this regard, but they have a lot in common.
Head coach Monty Williams was fired after leading the New Orleans Pelicans to the playoffs in 2015, a blow that badly damaged his career.
Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 and some thought he would struggle while playing out his contract. His last two All-Star seasons are a final rebuttal, with this final a significant Hall of Fame career achievement.
The icing on the cake is that he is leaning toward a $44 million exit in the final year of his deal, league sources said, as he has grown so great that he is now looking to sign a new deal for tens of millions more. is in position. Phoenix or anywhere else. Now this is an answer.
Booker has dealt with the stench of constant disrespect, the team's disqualification for his reputation, and the mist that comes with the turnstiles at the coach's office. This first playoff run, in which he averaged 27.0 points per game, elevated his position significantly and may have changed his reputation forever. He has a guaranteed spot on Team USA, and will have a jet waiting on the runway after the final that will immediately take him to Tokyo as he is considered an important part of the national team.
You can go down the roster, from Cameron Payne, who started playing in China last season, to Cameron Johnson, who was ridiculed for being picked 20 places too many in the draft, to Torrey Craig, who plays Milwaukee. was cut by the box. March.
The entire run of The Sons is a story of unexpected redemption—in surprisingly quick fashion.
Last season, after finishing on an 8-0 stretch in the Suns' bubble that still knocked them out of the playoffs, Williams gave an impassioned speech in a makeshift locker room at the Walt Disney World Resort.
"We want to be the kind of team that controls our destiny," Williams said. "This is our next step."
Game 1 of the NBA Finals, no matter what the opponent, will be in Phoenix next week. Whether they are a team of fate or they are controlling it themselves, Surya is writing a unique story.
"It's been a long time coming," said Booker, his nose still bleeding postgame, seemingly looking over his 24 years old. "We're waiting for this moment right here."